Al writes:
<<A friend asked me to clean up her PC, which runs Win XP. I have never
used Win XP, so I'm really at a loss as to where to begin. The unit runs
fine, but her complaints seem to be focused around sluggish performance, >>
I can't pretend to be an XP expert, having only recently migrated to it. In
essence, you should first go through all the usual things you'd do on any
old system--ie clean out all the junk files, .tmps, internet caches etc.
Defrag, scandisk, etc. Batchfiles still work, if you have any cleanup ones,
though you need to modify paths.
Run Spybot as well as AdAware, and clean out all the junk they find. You're
pretty safe in cleaning the lot, including cache items etc. Anything lost
won't be too vital. Don't forget to update their latest databases.
The nice thing about XP is that it protects us pretty well from our own
stupidity, so you won't be able to delete anything vital without a lot of
fuss (and perhaps not even then).
Go to http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm for startup info, then
go to his Services section.
XP Services will be a new concept to you. There are about 100 "services"
which XP can be configured to run at bootup. These might be best described
as built-in facilities designed for particular purposes. Some of these are
enabled by default, and some can consume quite a bit of memory. There are
many which may be not necessary, depending on the use of the computer. Many
network services, for example, are not needed on a standalone home computer
and may safely be disabled.
The "Indexing Service" appears to be a notorious memory hog. This service
periodically indexes the contents of the computer, which makes it much
faster to find files or other components. Rather like Office "Fastfind".
Disabling it may improve performance. There are some reported cases where
disabling this service has resulted in a dramatic performance improvement.
The Blackviper site will tell you how to access and configure these
Services, and describes the function of each one and how important it is.
(Note---Don't disable "Telephony". I did, then wondered why I couldn't
dial-up). You might need a bit of trial and error here, depending how
adventurous you want to be. You can access Services through Msconfig---but
this method is not recommended by Blackviper.
BlackViper has info on which startups are essential , also
http://www.prestocomputerservices.com/msconfig/.
Right click My computer/Properties, and you'll find lots of helpful cleanup
tools. Ensure that System Restore isn't set too high (I think about 10% is
enough for each drive, others may disagree--but I have registry backups as
well). You will find, in the "Advanced" tab, several nice performance
tweaks (eg turn off all animations, helpers, etc).
Right click each Drive/Properties, and you'll find more useful cleanup tools.
Don't forget to empty recycle bins---there are probably more than one.
Right Click Start button and select Properties---make sure it is NOT set to
"Classic" style---a great temptation at first, but one that should be
resisted, as Classic mode hides some of the essential service tools.
If you can't find anything (biggest prob in XP for newbies) use Start
Menu/Help and Support--it's really excellent. Direct links abound, which
makes life very easy.
Hopefully, these quick random thoughts might help. You'll need a lot of
patience---XP is much more complex than Wxx, and things are in "funny"
places, not easy to find at first. Using Find is usually the quickest way
round. Luckily, the old keyboard shortcuts still work. (Winkey+f, for example).
Email me privately if you would like my somewhat random collection of XP
notes, tutorials, and resources.
(And anyone else who wants them).
Don Penlington
From the beach at Surfers Paradise.
http://www.geocities.com/donaldpen/
for sunny Queensland photos, fractal art, free computer tutorials, and more.
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